Then there came you
by Left my heart in Paris
Summary: "The next women to come round that corner…you're going to ask out" Gibbs is tired of being alone, when he meets Jenny Shepard his whole life changes, not only does he finding himself falling in love with the redhead but also her two children. major JIBBS, Team as children. AU
1. Chapter 1

**This story idea was given to me by my sister RUMad who is also writing this idea but for her own OTP and I thought it would be a great idea for Jibbs, it's AU Gibbs works at NCIS but Jenny doesn't all shall be revealed soon, I hope you guys like it and please review.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Then there came you

It was a Friday night and how was special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs spending it? Having dinner with his friend FBI agent Tobias Fornell, it was something they did once a month, just drink beer, watch football and have dinner.

They'd both just finished a joint case together and decided to celebrate putting another bastard behind bars by Fornell cooking pasta and sauce, but to do that he actually needed food and also pans to cook it in because Gibbs didn't, of course they couldn't go to Fornell's house as Diane was there and she and Gibbs had never really got along even when they were married.

Fornell had dragged Gibbs to a local supermarket, he'd gone off to go get whatever he needed while Gibbs went off and decided to get stuff that he would need to save him going shopping later on in the week when he was way too busy working.

So he stood on the cereal aisle looking at all the different kinds, cereal being the only other thing he ever had for dinner other than Chinese takeout. Running a hand through his salt and pepper hair Gibbs decided to just stick with what he knew and picked up a box of grainy o's, boring, bland but nutritious and cheap.

"Grainy o's really" Fornell teased Gibbs as he walked over to him pushing his own shopping cart.

"Better than goat curry" Gibbs commented remembering what happened last month.

"Do you know what you need" Fornell told Gibbs as he took the grainy o's from his hands and put them back on the shelf and picked up a box of lucky charms.

"What?" Gibbs asked his friend as he watched Fornell take the cereal and put it back.

"You to have some fun" Fornell replied throwing Gibbs the lucky charms.

"Right" Gibbs said putting the cereal down and picking up his normal cereal again and then started to walk down aisle to go find the milk.

"Come on" Fornell grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back "When was the last time you were with a women?" he asked him.

Gibbs shook his head, telling him that he wasn't going to answer before trying to walk away but Fornell blocked his way by standing in front of him.

"It was Diane wasn't it?" He asked, Gibbs look away which gave him an indication that he was right, "God that was like…" Fornell thought for a moment "Well look how old Emily is" he told him with an almost laugh, thinking of how old his and Diane's daughter was and thinking Gibbs had been alone that long.

"I work a lot it's hard to find people" Gibbs shrugged his shoulders, all he seemed to do was work on his boat or be at work, he didn't have time to meet anyone and anyone he met at work, they just weren't the right person, they weren't people he could picture a future with, there never was a spark.

"Okay, let's find you a women" Fornell told him with a smile, he knew what he was going to do and it was going to be fun.

"Right now?" Gibbs asked looked around the deserted shopping aisle.

"Right now" Fornell nodded to Gibbs with a mischievous look in his eyes. "The next women to come round that corner…you're going to ask out"

"No" Gibbs shook his head.

"Yes" Fornell nodded with a full blown grin "It'll be fun" he told his friend.

"Yeah fun for you to watch" Gibbs mumbled under his breath and he took a deep breath and ran a hand down his face not sure why he was even going to do this, he turned and stared at the corner.

They heard footsteps, loud ones, someone was coming around the corner, Gibbs' heart started to beat a little faster in anticipation, but round the corner came a large stocky man, his bald head shiny under the intense shop lights. Fornell almost laughed before nudging Gibbs who shook his head and gave him a scowl.

Another five minutes went past and no one else came around the corner, of course no one was in the shop on a Friday evening who else would spend it here.

"Let's go" Gibbs shook his head and turned to walk away but Fornell stopped him.

"Two more minutes" he almost pleaded, he wanted to find Gibbs someone, he didn't want his friend to be alone.

"Fine" Gibbs rolled his eyes and huffed before turning back around and looked back down the aisle

The sound of pitter patter of feet running all of a sudden became apparent then faint yelling, before Gibbs knew it two children ran around the corner.

Both looking between the ages of five and ten, the boy looking a little older than the girl, "Tony give it back" the two men watched as the little girl reached up to grab her stuffed purple hippo that the boy, who must be Tony was holding up just out of her reach.

"Want it" the little boy lowered the stuffed toy a little and just as the girl reached for it he pulled it up out of her reach again "Can't have it" he told her with almost an evil laugh.

"Mummmmmmy" The little girl yelled and began to stamp her feet loudly.

Just as the girl began to scream a shopping cart that was full to the brim with a lot of different food for kids, Gibbs looked up at the women who was pushing the cart, the first thing that hit him was that she was a redhead, she wore baggy jeans which her fading , a loose fitting green jumper which sleeves were way to long and covered her hands, her hair was in a messy bun, stray curls covering her face, and on her feet she wore a pair of old warn out trainers the laces haphazardly tied as if done in a rush, "Tony I'm giving you five seconds to give Abby back Bert or else you are not allowed to go to football practice this week or next" she all of a sudden yelled at the children. "One"

Tony looked at his mother then to his little sister "Two" his mother said then she said "Three".

"Fine" the boy rolled his eyes before throwing the purple hippo back at his sister, she caught it and poked her tongue out at him before hugging the hippo, now known as Bert close to her chest making the toy produce a funny sound to which she giggled.

"Okay you two now your friends again can you please pick a cereal" The mother asked them both in the calmest voice she could muster, not wanting them to hear how really stressed she was.

Both children grinned before running over to the cereal and picking up two very different types and putting them in the shopping cart, "Uh, one box" their mother told them before putting back the cereal the children had chosen before looking at the selection herself trying to find one that was on sale and then picked up Tony's favourite, lucky charms, just full of extra sugar neither of her children needed with their hyper personalitys.

"What are you waiting for?" Fornell asked Gibbs bringing him back from the trance he'd seemed to be under.

"No" Gibbs shook his head.

"You have to ask her out" Fornell told him.

"She has _kids" _He told his friend shaking his head.

"So?" Fornell asked with a shrug of his shoulder "You like kids, your great with Emily" he reminded his friend.

"No" Gibbs shook his head "If there are kids, there has to be a dad" he told him.

"I don't see a ring on her finger" Fornell grinned at him before pushing Gibbs towards the women who had her two children circling her, the little girl pulling on her mother jumper as the boy loaded the already loaded cart with as many boxes pop tarts as he could.

"If you don't I will ask her for you " Fornell told him pushing him once more, Gibbs had known Fornell for many years and he knew he would probably go over to the women and ask her out for him.

Gibbs puffed out his chest and walked over to the women, "Ugh excuse me" he said wiping his sweaty palm on his trousers.

"I'm sorry for whatever my kids have done" the women told him not even bothering to look up at him from the shopping list in her hands making sure she wasn't missing anything that they needed.

"Uh no…"Gibbs began but she cut him off.

"I'll reimburse you for whatever they broke" she told him still not looking at him.

"It's not…." He tried again.

"They're not usually like this, they just had a lot of sugar yesterday…" she began but this time Gibbs stopped her.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime" he asked her, hoping she had listened to him.

The women's head shot up, she looked at him for a moment, he saw her skin was pale, she had dark bags under her eyes like she'd lost a lot of sleep lately but what got him most was her bright green eyes, something he hadn't noticed until now.

She opened her mouth and was about to answer when she looked straight past him and her facial features soon became angry "Tony put all those pop tarts back now or else you don't get lucky charms and you're just going to get grainy o's" she told him.

She then turned her attention back to the man that stood in front of her, Gibbs cleared his throat before speaking "I know this is a little strange and I totally get why you would say no, I mean you probably have a husband or boyfriend so you wouldn't want to…."

The women smiled, finding his nervousness kind of sweet, I mean yes this was crazy a guy coming up to her but how many opportunity's does a single mother get to go one dates let alone offered one. "No, I'd like to" she told him.

"Really" Gibbs was a little surprised this was going to work, "Ugh here's my number" Gibbs said pulling out a business card and handing it to her.

"Well…" she began to read his name from the card "Special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs" she said with a smile.

"Just Jethro" he told her.

"Well just Jethro, I'm Jenny" she told him "I'll call you later, probably after nine" she said motioning to the children who were still putting boxes of pop tarts back on the shelf.

"Can't wait" Gibbs smiled at her.

"Okay you two you can keep one box of pop tarts" Jenny told her two children, Tony and Abby high fived, like they had planned it all. She smiled at Gibbs once more before pushing the shopping cart down the aisle, passing Fornell as she turned to go down the next.

"What'd she say?" Fornell asked Gibbs as he walked over to him.

"She said yes"

TBC….

**I hope you guys like this, please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I still can't believe you're going on a date with some guy you met at the supermarket" Cynthia, Jenny's roommate and best friend told her from where she sat on Jenny's bed.

After the breakup and eventual divorce with Tony and Abby's father, she'd been left with a mortgage and a pile of bills she couldn't pay, she'd confided in her best friend and Cynthia had decided that if they put their money together they could afford to rent a three bedroom apartment, Jenny'd had to get a new job to work more and get more money to support her children.

The redhead shrugged her shoulders "Do you know how hard it is for a single mother to be asked out on a date by a decent guy?" she asked her friend. It was true most men ran the minute she told them that she had kids, but this Jethro guy, he already knew and obviously he hadn't been deterred to ask her out.

"What's his name again?" Cynthia asked her as Jenny put an earring in.

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs" Jenny told him having memorised the name from the business card he had given her.

"Weird name" Cynthia mumbled "What do you know about him?" she asked after a moment.

Jenny shrugged her shoulders "He's an NCIS agent" she told her before checking herself in the mirror, it had been a while since she'd been on a date of any sort so she was a little nervous.

"Mommmy" Six year old Abby ran into the room and straight to her mother, her dark pigtails swinging behind her and Bert the hippo tucked under her arm.

Jenny wrapped her arms around her little girl "What's wrong sweetie?" she asked crouching down to Abby's level and brushing her fringe out of her face so she could see the girls green eyes that were so similar to her own.

"Tony won't let me choose what's on TV" she told her mother.

Jenny rubbed a hand down her daughters back "But didn't you get to choose yesterday?" she asked her, Abby's only response was to nod slowly, "Then you can pick what you guys watch tomorrow" Jenny told her.

"But I don't like Magnum" she almost whined, Jenny smiled knowing Tony was becoming slightly obsessed with the program, she'd already had to buy him one Hawaiian t-shirt and she saw him eyeing the sofa bed in a catalogue she'd left open on the coffee table.

Jenny thought for a moment "Well you don't have to watch TV, you could go play with your toys or draw or dress Bert up" she said with a smile. Abby nodded and hugged Bert close to her, The redhead pressed a kiss to her daughters head.

"You look pretty mummy" Abby complemented her as she walked over to the double bed that Cynthia was still sitting on and climbed up to sit beside her.

"Do I really?" Jenny asked running a hand down her side, she wore a black knee length dress which had silk almost netted sleeves, black tights and black stilettos, her hair half up and half down in a top notch.

"Really" Cynthia assured her friend as she slipped off of the bed and Abby did the same and all three of the women walked out of Jenny's bedroom and into the open living room come kitchen diner.

As they expected Tony lay sprawled across the sofa on his stomach his eyes glued to the TV watching an old episode of Magnum PI. "Hey buddy" Jenny walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead "Are you going to be good for Cynthia?" she asked him.

"Uh huh" Tony answered without taking his eyes off of the TV screen.

Jenny smiled before walking into the kitchen where Cynthia was starting to cook their dinner with Abby and Bert's supervision, "Thanks for doing this" she told Cynthia.

The women shrugged her shoulders, they'd been best friends since school, she'd always been jealous that the redhead seemed to have it all, the man, the kids, the house, but all that had ended when a watery eyed Jenny had turned up on her doorstep with baby Abby in her arms and two year old Tony gripping her hand tightly, she'd taken them all in without a second thought.

"You know I don't mind" Cynthia shoved the redhead gently, "You need this" she told her.

Jenny nodded "Yeah, he seemed nice" she told her friend "He was so nervous…." She began but then the door buzzer rang.

"I'll get it" Abby ran to where the button was by the front door, Jenny going after her.

"Who is it?" Abby asked with her natural cheery voice.

"Uh" a deep male voice she didn't recognise came through the speaker "It's Gibbs, is your mum there?" he asked just as Jenny came up behind Abby.

"Yeah I'm here come right up" She told him before turning to Abby and pressing a kiss to her forehead before leading her back over to the sofa where she sat down waiting for the inevitable nock at the door.

Moments later there it came, Jenny flattened her dress and flicked her hair over her shoulder before going to the door, taking a deep breath before unlocking the door and opening it, a smile couldn't help but grace her lips as she looked at him, he looked much like he had when he'd approached her in the supermarket, black trousers, grey shirt, white polo shirt just visible and black jacket.

To say Gibbs was surprised was an understatement, she'd looked nothing like when he'd asked her out, before she'd looked tired, her hair had been a mess, but now she looked god dame gorgeous, the dress hugged her curves perfectly and was just revealing enough to leave room for imagination, her legs, well they seemed as though they were never going to end and he was so glad he'd been right about her eyes, the prettiest green eyes he'd ever seen.

"Hi" She smiled at him.

"You look great" Gibbs told her after she'd broken him from the spell she'd put him under.

"You don't look so bad yourself" Jenny complimented trying not to smile but something about him just made her want to smile, "I'm just going to grab my coat" she told him before walking over to the back of the arm chair and picking up the black pea coat and slipping it on, pulling her hair out of the collar sending her red locks flying.

She then walked over to where Abby and Tony sat on the sofa, "You to be good okay" she pressed a kiss to both their heads and smiled at Cynthia before walking back over to the door.

"Ready to go?" Gibbs asked her with a genuine smile.

"Yeah, lets" She smiled before letting him walk her out, shutting the door behind herself.

….

Half an hour later they were seated at a local French restaurant, that they both coincidentally liked.

"Can I get you drinks?" the waitress asked them after they'd sat down.

"Bourbon no ice" Jenny asked much to Gibbs' surprised.

"Make that two" Gibbs told the waitress who noted it down before walking away. "Bourbon" he smiled at his dinner companion.

The redhead shrugged her shoulders "I've acquired a taste of it over the years" she told him just as the waitress came back with their drinks.

"Can I take your order?" she asked them.

"Steak au pave" Gibbs informed her, the waitress nodded before looking at Jenny/

"Make that two" she told the waitress but kept her eyes on Gibbs, who smiled at her, both finding it very strange that they had such similar tastes.

"So" Gibbs began when the waitress had left with their orders "Those were your kids at the supermarket?" he asked her knowing it was probably a stupid question.

Jenny nodded "Yes Tony, he's eight and Abby she's six" she said with a smile as she thought of her children. "Do you have kids?" she asked him.

Gibbs wasn't sure how to answer, yes he'd had a daughter, but it was never something he really spoke about, it always seemed to be the thing that ended up ruining his relationships, maybe for once it would be good if he was honest from the beginning.

"Did I say something wrong?" Jenny asked noticing he'd gone a little pale and his eyes seemed to be clouded over in memories.

"Uh no" Gibbs shook his head "I had a daughter" he told her "But she along with my first wife died when I was in the marines" he added.

"Oh I'm so sorry" she gave him a weak smile and reached her hand across the table to squeeze his, telling him that it was okay.

Gibbs gave her a weak smile in return, he was surprised she hadn't pushed him more to talk about them like his other relationships had, "What happened to Tony and Abby's dad?" he asked after a moment.

"We got a divorce" Jenny admitted "Shortly after Abby turned one, he just couldn't handle it, it just wasn't the life he wanted" she explained taking a sip of her bourbon.

"He see the kids often?" Gibbs asked, hoping that at least this guy was a good dad to the kids.

"Christmas if he can be bothered" Jenny admitted "He calls on birthdays and Easter though and sends presents"

Gibbs nodded "Must be hard" he told her.

Jenny shrugged her shoulders "They keep me busy, My friend Cynthia has been a huge help" she added "You said she was your first wife, how many have you had since?" Jenny asked after a moment just as their main course was put in front of them.

Gibbs smiled at her, he was smiling, he hardly ever smiled "I've been married twice since" he admitted "Divorced twice too" he told her as they both cut into their steaks and began to eat.

"Who was the friend at the supermarket?" She asked him as she leant across and nicked a spear of asparagus that she noticed he'd pushed out of the way onto the corner of her plate, much like Tony did with his broccoli that he never ate.

"That was Fornell" Gibbs added "He's actually married to my last ex-wife" he told her making her laugh, he liked her laugh, he liked her smile, he liked her.

"Really….and your still friends with her?" she asked as she put half of her huge steak onto his plate and then he put the rest of his asparagus on her plate, it was like a fine art they'd learnt over the years not the hours they'd been on this date.

"Not her but him" Gibbs explained "Let's just say Fornell always has to come to me" he added making them both laugh this time. They both loved how they'd easily fell into conversation.

"So Special Agent Gibbs, how did you end up at NCIS?" Jenny asked after a moment.

"I thought I'd make a good cop" He uttered the same words he'd spoken to Mike Franks.

Jenny nodded "and do you?" she asked him playfully.

"I'm pretty good" he told her, being the leader of the major case response team had to mean something right? "What about you Jen, what do you do?" he asked her, not sure where calling her Jen came from but he liked it.

"I'm a politics teacher at the local high school" she told him.

Gibbs nodded "You like it?" he asked her as he took a sip of his bourbon.

Jenny shrugged her shoulders "I only took the job because I needed the money and it also allows me to be home with the kids, I don't have to pay for a baby sitter, they can stay in afterschool day-care until I pick them up"

"What did you want to do?" he asked her.

The redhead smiled "I don't know, I wanted to be some powerful women in the political circle" she explained "But a teacher does me just fine" she added at the end. "Do you like your job?" she asked him.

"Yeah, putting the bad guys behind bars, getting justice for the victims and their family's is pretty rewarding" he told her with a nod as the waitress came back to take their now empty plates.

"Can I get you coffee?" the women asked them.

"Jamaican blend" Gibbs ordered and Jenny almost laughed.

"Make that two" she replied.

"We seem to have similar taste" Gibbs eyed the redhead carefully.

"Yes it seems we do" she told him with a smile as she looked at him for a moment, he was very handsome, he had a natural roughness that she liked, but he was also very sweet and charming, it was his eyes that caught her most though, they were so expressive, they told her all the emotion she doubted his mouth or face would ever speak of, he was a mystery and she'd always liked mystery's.

"Here you go" the waitress put two coffees in front of them as well as a little box with different packs of sugar in and a small jug of cream.

Gibbs watched as Jenny put a small dash of cream and sprinkled a little bit of sugar into her coffee, where as he himself just drank it black.

An hour later after a little detour through the streets before going back to his car Gibbs walked Jenny up to her apartment "Thank you for a lovely evening" she said as she leant against her door.

"Thank _you_" Gibbs smiled at her , "I'll call you?" he suggested.

"I look forward to it" Jenny grinned at him before leaning forward and kissing him lightly on the cheek before unlocking her apartment door and then walking inside shutting it behind her.

Gibbs stood outside her apartment door for a moment, thinking about that stunning women, he raised his hand to the spot on his cheek where he'd just kissed her and wiped away the smudge of lipstick left there before turning around and walking down the stairs out of the apartment block with a smug smirk on his face, wait till Fornell found out that asking the next women to walk around the corner in a supermarket wasn't as a bad idea as he'd told him afterwards that it would be

Meanwhile Jenny leant against the door of the apartment and bit her lip to stop herself from squealing with excitement, it seemed her luck was about to change.

TBC…

**I hope you guys like, any suggestions?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Just want to thank Fashiongirl97 for giving me support and suggestions for this chapter and also once again my sister RUMad who gave me the idea for this story.**

Chapter 3 

"Mom" Tony tried to get his mother's attention as he pushed a piece of broccoli around his dinner plate. "Mom" he tried again.

Jenny turned around quickly to face her son "What?" she asked him running a hand through her long red hair, she'd been running late all day, she'd stayed late at school to finished grading papers and then on the way home she'd every red light going and the drive took forty five minutes on a good day and now she was running late for her date with Jethro.

She looked at the clock he would be here any minute, he'd told her to dress casual so she wore dark blue skinny jeans with a red jumper and her hair was tied back in a tight pony tail and she was walking around looking for her high heels boots, she'd already checked with Cynthia and she hadn't borrowed them.

"What do people do on dates?" Tony asked her.

"We talk" Jenny told him as she tried to think when she last had the boots.

"That sounds boring" Tony scoffed as Abby took the opportunity of her mother and brother being distracted to put the broccoli from her plate in front of Bert and try and stuff It into his mouth.

"If you don't talk to someone, how can you get to know them?" she asked her son with a small smile before turning to Abby "Abby put the broccoli back on your plate and eat it" she told her, her voice stern, her hands on her hips.

Abby pouted her, her lower lip quivering "But Bert likes broccoli" she said her green eyes bright and shiny.

"I'll remember that next time and give extra" Jenny said running a hand through her daughters hair as she walked past her, finding Abby's disgusted look very amusing.

"Everything okay?" Cynthia asked as she came through the front door coming back from her work.

"Everything's great, are you sure your okay with looking after them again?" she asked feeling bad, just dumping her kids on her friend for the second Friday in a row.

"Yeah" Cynthia smiled at the children she considered as her niece and nephew, "I'm just going to change" she said heading to her bedroom "Oh and I think I saw lover boy's truck out front" she told her friend.

Jenny glared at her friend before continuing her hunt for her boots, "What are you look for mummy?" Abby asked just as Jenny looked under the sofa for them.

"My boots" she informed her daughter, "They're black have you seen them?" she asked thinking that her daughter probably hadn't, I mean why would she?

"I know where they are" Abby told her mother jumping down from her seat at the small dining table situated in the corner of the kitchen and ran to the bedroom she shared with her brother and Jenny followed her inside.

The children's room was the biggest of the three, two single beds on opposite sides of the room, the walls a cream colour but decorated with stickers and posters that showed both child's individuality and taste.

Abby's wall was covered in bats and cobwebs, her bed covers where a deep dark purple with a black swirly cob web pattern, her toys and clothes neatly put away, Tony's wall was covered in movie posters and quotes, his bed covers were red and covered in cars and of course he wanted the car bedframe but Jenny couldn't afford it yet.

Jenny watched as her youngest child pulled her black boots from under her bed, "Abs what were you doing with them?" she asked her daughter, her voice full of surprise.

"I was trying them on" Abby explained, no joke about her, Jenny smiled before pressing a kiss to her daughters forehead just as there came a buzz at the door.

Jenny then walked out of her daughter's bedroom and went to the door and hit the intercom "Hello" she answered.

"It's Gibbs" His sexy gruff voice spoke.

"Come up the door's open" Jenny said unlocking the door so he could just walk in while she quickly put the boots on and zipped them up.

Gibbs walked into the apartment moments later with a bunch of white Phalaenopsis orchids in his hands, "For me?" Jenny asked with a smile and flutter of her eyelashes.

"No actually I bought them for Abby" he joked, upon hearing her name the little girl ran over to Gibbs, "Would you like the flowers?" he asked her.

"No" Abby said with a crinkle of her nose "I prefer roses" she told him "Black ones" she added after a moment "But mummy loves Orchids" she told him.

"Really?" Gibbs asked the redhead.

"I do, how did you know?" she asked him.

"Lucky guess" he mumbled shrugging his shoulders.

"I'll put them in water and then we can go" she told him before going over to the kitchen sink and filling a vase with water.

He watched her for a moment before he gave into the pressure of the extra pair of eyes he felt on him, he looked to his side and smiled at Abby who smiled back, he looked over to Tony who still sat at the dinner table, but he didn't smile the little boy was glaring at Gibbs, He could sense trouble in the future.

"Ready?" Jenny asked Gibbs just as Cynthia came out of her room.

"Yeah" Gibbs nodding sending Cynthia a smile, so she had been the women he'd seen run past his car and into the apartment building, he'd thought he'd seen her before.

"You two be good" Jenny yelled to her children before she and Gibbs walked out of the apartment to go on their date.

….

Almost three hours later Jenny and Gibbs arrived back from their date "I really had a great time" Jenny told him as they reached her door, much like they had a week ago.

"Really, I know it wasn't fancy…." Gibbs began but Jenny cut him off.

"It was perfect" she told him with a smile, the smile that he was ever so slowly falling in love with.

Gibbs nodded, he believed her but it still didn't put the feeling in the pit of his stomach that he could have treated her to more, "I'll call you" he told her.

"I look forward to it" Jenny smiled at him, but neither of them began to leave, neither wanting it to end.

Jenny looked at him for a moment, her gaze moving from his eyes to his lips, it had been a long time since she'd gone on a date with anyone let alone two, it had been a very long time since she was connecting with someone how she was with him.

Gibbs saw where Jenny's gaze had landed and he felt the same, her ruby red lips had been tempting him all night, slowly they both took a step towards each other, he reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, meanwhile she wound her arms around his neck, letting her fingers play with the ends of his salt and pepper hair.

Slowly their lips gravitated towards each other and before they knew it they were locked in a heated kiss, his tongue ran along her bottom lips as his hands went to the bare skin at her hips where her jumper had risen from her arms being around his neck and he being taller than her, making her groan which gave him the perfect opportunity to explore the crevices of her mouth and she do the same to him while her hands gripped tightly at his short silver hair.

Both parted when the need for air became too important, both left panting for breath as their foreheads rested against one another, at least they knew they connected that way as well, Jenny ran her hands town his chest, loving the feeling of his muscles under the thin t-shirt he was wearing.

"Wow" Jenny mumbled once she caught her breath, she felt as if she were alive again, like her whole body was on fire, her lips were tingling and she felt slightly light headed.

Gibbs didn't say anything as usual he just closed his eyes once more and took a deep breath to try and regain his composer of being the gruff ex-marine.

Jenny finally let go of Gibbs as he did of her, both missed the contact immediately "Good night Jethro" She smiled at him before pressing a quick kiss to his lips.

"Night Jen" he mumbled as he watched her going inside the apartment before turning around and heading back to his car.

Jenny crept into the apartment trying not to wake up Tony and Abby who she expected to be asleep, "You look happy" the redhead turned to find Cynthia watching TV, sitting on the sofa, Jenny sat down beside her.

"I am" she nodded, she couldn't stop smiling.

"Your lipsticks smudged" Cynthia told her friend with an almost giggle and Jenny only replied by laughing. "What did you guys do?" she asked her.

"He took me too a Diner that he likes and then we went for a moon light walk around the harbour and he showed me the boat that he owns and told me he'd building one in his basement" she explained the whole time with a smile on her face.

"How's he going to get it out?" Cynthia wondered.

"I don't know" Jenny shrugged her shoulders.

"So you like him?" her friend asked after a moment.

"Yeah" Jenny nodded, she definitely felt something for Jethro, "What do you think?"

Cynthia though for a moment "Has very nice eyes" she said making Jenny smile.

"He wants to get to know the kids" She told her friend after a moment "Abby seemed to be okay with him but I'm worried about Tony" Jenny explained, Tony had been her little man for a long time she didn't

"He might warm up to him once he gets to know Jethro" Cynthia said trying to comfort her friend.

"I hope so" Jenny mused.

TBC…

**I really need suggestions I have serious writers block with what Gibbs and Jen can do with the kids?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you all so much for your reviews and suggestions it means so much, I hope you continue to like this story.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 4

Jenny was a little nervous, she wasn't sure why, was it because her children were going to meet Gibbs for the first time and spent time together, was it because she liked him so much that she didn't want to ruin the foundation that they had begun to build, or was it because Tony was sitting on the living room sofa looking very grumpy and upset.

"What's up buddy?" She asked him, sitting down beside him on the sofa behind him.

"Nothing" Tony mumbled looking down at his black converse.

Jenny knew that it wasn't nothing as he wasn't act as he usually was, she was even more worried now, was he acting strange because of Gibbs, because she never let her dates meet her kids, so she never knew how Tony felt about her dating, she just hoped that he cheered up when Gibbs came.

"Hey, I know is not _nothing_" she told him brushing his brown hair out of his face "Come on you can tell me anything" Jenny said lightly bumping her son's shoulder with her own, but yet Tony was still tight lipped, a frown etched onto his face.

"I know what's wrong" Abby said, standing in front of her mother, herself jumping up and down on the balls of her feet, her pigtails flying at her shoulders.

"What's wrong with him Abs?" she asked her daughter, hoping Abby would give some insight into what was troubling Tony as he himself wouldn't tell her.

"He told the girl he likes at school that he likes her and she punched him" Abby said almost laughing at her brother.

Jenny was a little surprised but couldn't help but smirk, she bit her lips when she turned to face her son "Is that true?" she asked Tony.

Tony's stood up, his fists clenched as he turned to Abby "Well Ziva's cooler than your chubby friend McGee" he yelled at her.

Abby's face screwed up in anger "His name is Timmy not McGee and he is way cooler than Ziva" she yelled back at him.

"Nah uh" Tony yelled at her.

"Yuh huh" Abby replied, her hands on her hips.

"Nah uh, McGee is a dweeb" he told his sister just as there was a buzz at the door.

Jenny got up from the sofa, hoping that her children would stop fighting when Gibbs got up to the apartment, she went over to the intercom "Hello" she answered.

"Pizza man" Gibbs' voice came through the intercom making Jenny laugh.

"Come on up" she told him, amusement evident in her voice before she pressed the button to open the door.

She then turned and found her two children still fighting, Abby pushed Tony, who only pushed her back, "Take it back" the little Goth yelled at her brother.

"Hey" Jenny yelled at them but couldn't get their attention but she couldn't, she watched as Tony pushed Abby back.

There came a knock at the door, Jenny huffed and went to open the door, forgetting that Gibbs' first glimpse of her children would be them arguing, she opened the door and then smiled upon seeing Gibbs wearing, worn out jeans and a red hoodie, two pizza boxes in his hand.

"Hi" he smiled at her, his blue eyes shining, he seemed happy to see her.

"hey" Jenny smiled at him before standing aside "Come on in" she motioned inside with her head and let him walk past her, brushing slightly against her.

Gibbs smiled when he saw the two children, in the middle of an argument, just like brother and sister would be, "Hey guys" Jenny said getting their attention.

Tony let go of Abby's pigtail before they both spun around to face their mother and Gibbs, "Guys this is my uh friend Gibbs" she told them, "Gibbs this is Tony and Abby" she introduced them.

"Nice to meet you Sir" Abby gave Gibbs a toothy grin.

"Uh don't call me Sir" Gibbs told her, humour and kindness emanating in his voice and features.

"Yes mame" she answered him making them all laugh, well except Tony who just stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I brought pizza" Gibbs told them, hoping it would cheer Tony up "You like Pizza right?" he asked both of the children.

"Yeah" Abby nodded enthusiastically but Tony still looked at Gibbs with a cold stone face.

"You love pizza Tony" Jenny tried to encourage her son, "It's your favourite" she told him, "Come on lets go to the table" Jenny suggested.

Abby then ran off to the cupboard and pulled out four plates and set them at the table, Tony put his hands in his pocket and walked over to the table, looking at his chucks.

Jenny mouthed 'sorry' to Gibbs, he smiled before shaking his head, telling her it was nothing, he didn't expect her kids to take to him immediately actually he was surprised that Abby was so cheery so Tony being how he was was to be expected.

They sat down at the small dinner table, Abby and Tony sat one side and Gibbs and Jenny sat the other, Abby was staring at Gibbs, her mother never ever brought friends home or at least guy friends.

Tony couldn't help but smile at the sight of a pepperoni pizza and a chicken feast one, two of his favourites. Everyone dug in to the pizza's.

"So Mr Gibbs, what's your job?" Abby asked him as she ate a slice of pizza that Jenny had put on her plate.

"I ugh, I'm sort of a police man" he told her smiling when her bright green eyes widened even more "I put bad guys away" he told her.

"Wow" Abby said gaping at him.

Tony still sat eyeing Gibbs, he ate a little of the pizza but still wasn't sure about this Gibbs guy, he wasn't sure if he was okay with some guy swooping in and taking his dads place, of taking his place as the guy in Jenny's life.

"You ever killed anyone?" Tony asked after a moment, he just couldn't help himself.

Gibbs was a little caught out, not really sure what to say "No" he lied, not wanting scare him or anything, not when his little outer walls were slowly crumbling.

"Have you ever had a car chase?" Tony asked him.

"A couple of times" Gibbs told him with a slight smile before they all went back to their pizza.

Jenny smiled fondly, Abby seemed to like Gibbs and she could see Tony warming up with time, "Once you've eaten you can choose the film we watch" she told her children knowing it would make Tony happy.

"The road to Eldorado" Tony said with a smile.

"No" Abby protested "I want to watch haunted mansion" she continued to complain.

"We watched that yesterday" The eight year old told his sister the old film had become her latest obsession since she'd found out about the whole Goth thing.

"Fine" Abby huffed before finishing her pizza.

Twenty minutes later everyone was settled in to watch the road to Eldorado, Jenny sat at one end of the three seater sofa, Gibbs sat the other and Abby wanted to sit in between, Tony sat on one of the armchairs, still not feeling great about Gibbs.

Neither Jenny or Gibbs were really paying much attention to the film, both were lost in thought, Jenny thinking about how nice it felt to have a man in the house, a male figure, feeling very comfortable with it all.

Meanwhile Gibbs thought about how much he liked Jenny and thought Abby was just so sweet and Tony seemed protective over his family which was always a good quality but also by what Jenny had told him he could be a rascal at times, the movie night was also reminding him of the past, when Kelly would be him and Shannon to watch another Disney princess film, beauty and beast being her favourite, even though she had been obsessed with Ariel at times, convinced Shannon was the mermaid.

He felt someone squeeze his hand with their own and looked up when and saw Jenny had reached across the back of the sofa and grabbed his hand, seeing he was lost in thought, his eyes glazed over in memories of the past, Jenny presumed Kelly.

Tony watched this and was a little surprised at this, wasn't it a subtle display of affection, he still wasn't sure how he felt about it, how he felt about this Gibbs guy touching his mum, even though it was holding her hand, he hoped this Gibbs guy didn't hurt her.

When the credits of the film eventually began to run, Gibbs felt a weight on his side, he looked down at his side and smiled at the sight of Abby curled up asleep into him, reminded him of Kelly, meanwhile in the arm chair, Tony was finding it hard to keep his eyes open.

Jenny got up from the sofa and carefully lifted Abby up, glad the apartment was small so she only had to walk over to the room she shared with Tony before placing her down in her bed, tucking her in "Night sweet girl" Jenny said pressing a kiss to Abby's forehead.

When She re-entered the living room she found Tony had finally fallen asleep and Gibbs carefully lifted the little boy up into his arms "Their bedroom's this way?" Gibbs asked her in a low whisper and Jenny nodded sending him a smile.

She then watched from the door way as Gibbs carefully put Tony down in his bed before he walked out of the children's bedroom, Jenny shut the bedroom door behind him. "You didn't have to do that" she told him.

Gibbs shrugged his shoulders "Wouldn't do your back any good" he told her, Jenny just smiled at him.

"Thank you for coming, for doing this" Jenny said smiling up at him, her green eyes looking into his blue.

"I wanted to, the kids our great, Abby's so sweet and friendly and Tony he's just how I expected him to be" Gibbs told her.

Jenny sighed "Tony will just take some time to warm up to you" She told him "He's still quite close to his father and he'd never around…." she began to ramble, looking down to the floor.

Gibbs lifted her chin with his finger, making her look at him, to make him see that it was okay, he understood, he then kissed her and she kissed him back, her arms going around his neck.

"I should go" Gibbs told her when they parted, resting his forehead against hers, she still holding him close.

Jenny nodded before grabbing his hand and leading him to the door "Once upon a time I would have asked you to stay and I wouldn't have taken no for an answer…." She trailed off knowing he would get the rest.

Gibbs' only answer was to pressed a quick kiss to her lips before disappearing into the night.

TBC…

**I want to quickly thank my two sisters for helping me with this chapter.**

**Hope you guys like, please review. More Jibbs and Gibbs and kids soon…maybe….I dunno**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was a boring Wednesday lunchtime, Miss Jenny Shepard sat in the teachers staff room, her pre made sandwich one side of her and an old mug of crappy school coffee the other side of her, a pile of papers that needed to be graded in front of her that only seemed to grow.

It also wasn't helping that she couldn't stop thinking about Gibbs, they'd been on two more dates since they'd met the kids, she and Gibbs had had dinner with the kids at a local Italian place and then they'd all gone to the cinema to see the latest bond film.

Tony was still cold to Gibbs but it was thawing, especially after the bond film, the eight year old had thought it was so cool that Gibbs liked bond just as much as he did. Abby loved Gibbs, she thought he was really cool and loved how much Gibbs seemed to like her mum and she him.

"Hey" Jenny looked up to see her friend Cassy Yates who was a history teacher and her class room was next door to Jenny's.

"Hi" the redhead smiled at her as the women sat down in a chair beside her, "What's up?" Jenny asked.

"You were smiling, what were you thinking about?" Cassy asked, nudging her gently with her shoulder.

"Nothing" Jenny told her before taking a sip of her coffee and pushing the papers aside, obviously they were not getting marked today.

"It wasn't nothing" her friend said sending Jenny a weird grin, one that made Jenny feel a little uneasy. "It's a guy" she told her.

"No" Jenny scoffed before taking another sip of her coffee as she heard a cough at the door, looking up at the door she almost spat out her coffee.

Cassy followed Jenny's line of sight and smiled upon seeing a tall, muscly man with sexy silver hair with two cups of coffee in his hands. "This the guy?" she asked Jenny.

Jenny was now able to breath, "Jethro" she smiled at him as she got up from her chair, ignoring her friend and going over to meet Gibbs. "What are you doing here?" she asked him, both ignoring the looks he got from people.

"I was in the neighbourhood thought I would come see you" he told her "I brought coffee" Gibbs held it out for her to take.

"My hero" Jenny told him before reaching up and giving him a quick kiss on the lips, "You want to come sit for a while?" she asked him.

"Yeah" Gibbs nodded before following her over to an old sofa where they both sad down side by side.

"So what brought you to Georgetown?" She asked him.

"A case, had to interview a suspect" He told her

"Did you get a lead?" Jenny asked as she took a sip of the coffee he had brought her and boy was it so much better than the school crap.

"Dead end" he replied "How are Tony and Abby?" he asked, smiling when he thought about the kids.

"They're good, Tony's still obsessing over the race car bed and Abby's becoming the happiest Goth you ever did meet" she told him.

Gibbs smiled "The only Goth I've ever met, youngest too" he mumbled into his coffee making Jenny laugh, "I was wondering if you want to go out on Friday?" he asked her after a moment.

Jenny smiled "That would be great, Abby and Tony are going to spend the half term with their dad, he's picking them up on Friday and with no work, you'll have met all week" she told him.

"Really" Gibbs raised his eyebrows at her, looking forward to the upcoming week.

"Maybe you can show me that boat your building" Jenny suggested.

"Look forward to it" Gibbs told her just as his phone began to ring, he looked at her apologetically before answering it "Gibbs" he answered, "Uh huh, I'll be there as soon as I can" he continued before putting the phone down.

"You have to go?" Jenny asked him, almost wanting him not to.

"Yeah" Gibbs nodded "I'll call you later?"

"Of course" Jenny smiled before getting up and walking him to the door and giving him a quick kiss to his lips, loving how natural it felt.

"Stay safe" she told him, not sure why all of a sudden that she worried about him getting hurt on the job, watching Magnum with Tony hadn't helped, seeing him getting shot or hurt.

"I will" Gibbs told her before pressing another kiss to her lips and walking out, down the corridor of the school.

….

"What you got Duck?" Gibbs asked later as he walked into autopsy, a spring his step.

"I found skin under the victims finger nails and have sent it to forensics to analyse" Ducky explained from where he stood next to the body that lay on the autopsy slab, "But what I found even more interesting, I found a sort of burn on the arm of the victim" he said lifting the arm and showing the round burn mark on the body's arm.

"Cigarette?" Gibbs asked after taking a closer look.

"I presume show but well know more when we run tests" Ducky said before looking up at Gibbs to see the red tint on his lips, as if from a women's lipstick. "Where were you when I called you?" he asked.

"I was coming back from talking to a suspect" Gibbs lied but obviously didn't show it, he was a private person, he hadn't told anyone about Jenny, let alone her children, it wasn't anyone's business and he himself wasn't sure how he felt about the redhead himself, I mean obviously there was something between him and Jenny, some connection, chemistry, a spark.

"I didn't interrupt anything did I?" Ducky continued to push, he had been friends with Jethro for so many years, he'd seen him through almost all of his wife's after Shannon and the other failed girlfriends, so he knew when Gibbs was seeing someone.

"Nope" Gibbs told him hoping the doctor would ask the question he wanted to before he chocked.

Ducky was getting fed up so cut to the chase "Really because you're wearing lipstick"

Gibbs' eyes went wide and he lifted his hand and pressed it to his lips and found he was true there was Jenny's deep red lipstick, "Oh" He mumbled.

"Who is she?" Ducky asked.

"A women I met" Gibbs tried to be vague but he knew Ducky deserved to know "Her names Jenny, she's a teacher" he told him.

Ducky nodded "How long have you been seeing her"

"A little over a month" Gibbs said knowing Ducky might be a little hurt he hadn't told him sooner.

"Where did you meet her?" he asked.

"Uh" Gibbs wasn't sure how he should answer "In a supermarket" he decided to be honest.

Ducky looked a little shocked "Is she someone special"

"She, she" Gibbs couldn't help but smile "I don't know yet, I'll keep you posted".

TBC…

**Suggestions? **


	6. Chapter 6

**First Happy Birthday Mark Harmon!**

**Second thanks my sister RUMad for helping me with this chapter.**

Chapter 6

Jenny hugged her children close, she would miss them, even if they were only gone a week. Sure she was looking forward to the break too but she'd still miss them

"I'll see you in a week" she reminded them trying to not sound too emotional, it was just a week, they'd spent the week with their dad before.

"We know mum" Tony sighed like a grown up

"Love you" she ruffled his hair. He just groaned as he spiked it up again, before turning away with a grumbled 'love you', he couldn't let himself look all sissy in front of his dad, he was supposed to be strong just like his father, show that he was the man of the house when his father was gone.

"Love you" Abby squeezed Jenny one last time before running over to her daddy who stood by his truck.

Ed leant against his truck, looking at the redhead he used to be married too, used to think he was in love with, their two children stood beside him, she looked good, she always did but he could see her thinking, probably worrying about the kids, she always worried, "They'll be fine Jenny" he told her.

Jenny pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest "Call me before they go to bed?" she asked wanting to hear them and know that they were okay and that they would have a good night sleep "And don't forget to bring them back at eleven in the morning next week" she told him.

"Yeah yeah" Ed waved a flailing hand at her as he turned to his old, green rusty truck and opened his passenger side for the kids to get in.

"Bye mummy" Abby grinned at her mother before hoping in with her dad's help.

"Bye sweetie" her mother smiled at her, Tony just turned around to give his mum a small smile before he hopped into the truck and Ed just shut the door, he nodded to Jenny before getting in the truck.

She watched as they pulled away from the curb and she was left alone with just her thoughts to keep her company, she felt uneasy, it wasn't that she didn't trust Ed, he was a very good father, he loved his kids, he always did fun stuff with them and loved them , but he wasn't a full time dad, he hadn't been for the past five years, he always made her look like the bad guy because she was always the parent who enforced the rules.

Jenny didn't have enough time to feel alone, as Gibbs's dodge charger was pulling up before Ed had reached the end of the road.

Gibbs smiled as he pulled up outside his girlfriend's apartment when he saw her already standing outside, pulling over and turning off the engine he got out "Hey" he greeted her.

"Hi" Jenny told him with an almost sad smile as he approached her.

He noticed how she looked a little sad, like something was on her mind "Are you okay?" He asked as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"I'm fine, it's just weird without the kids" she explained as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You still want to go out?" he asked her, understanding if she'd like some time to herself.

Jenny smiled up at him, he was sweet but she wanted to spend time with him as much as she could "Of course" she told him, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"It's just Chinese in my basement" he told her, telling her in his own way that it would be okay if she changed her mind.

"It sounds perfect" She assured him, it really did sound prefect to her, like solitude, a place where they could just be them.

…

"When you said you were building a boat in your basement you weren't lying" Jenny said from where she stood at the top of the basement stairs, looking down at the large wooden frame of the boat sitting in the middle of the room, surrounded with tools and tool benches, the smell of sawdust and bourbon permeating the air, making her feel safe and warm, obviously this is where he spent most of his time.

"Why would I lie?" Gibbs asked her as he walked past her with the bag of Chinese in one hand and fresh bottle of bourbon in the other.

The redhead ignored his question of her not believing him and asked him another "How are you going to get it out of here?" he asked her seeing it as one floor of his past time, hobby.

Gibbs then stopped on the step he was on then turned around to face her, the intensity of his gaze, making her knees weak, she was sure she might have fallen if she wasn't gripping the banister tightly. "You'll just have to stick around long enough find out" he told her in a deep sultry voice that almost sent shivers up her spine.

He smirked upon seeing the redhead's stunned expression and finding it very cute and also liked knowing that he had that effect on her, he pressed a quick kiss to her lips, just not able to resist it before continuing walking down the stairs.

After a moment Jenny shook her head bringing her back to reality, back from the spell he had cast upon her, she then followed him down to the basement and went over to where he stood by the work bench sorting out the Chinese.

Soon Jenny stood on top of the old stool eating her chicken chow mein with her chopsticks, a mason jar half filled with bourbon on the work bench beside her, she watched as Gibbs switched between working on his boat and taking bites of his own food.

Gibbs could feel her eyes on him as he sanded away on the wood skeleton of the boat, he knew she was watching as his muscles rippled under his old marine corps t-shirt.

"Teach me?" Jenny asked after a moment, hopping down from the stool, putting her now empty carton of take away on the bench.

The ex-marine took a step back from the frame of the boat and let her slip between him and it, handing her the sander.

Slowly she glided the sander over the wooden planks in front of her, she stopped though when Gibbs came up right behind her and put his hands on top of hers "With the grain" he reminded her before guiding her hands over to the wooden, paying extra attention to the rougher patches.

Soon Jenny dropped the sander and turned around to face him "Is this your own brand of foreplay?" she asked him, her breath heavy against his lips, his only reply was to pull her in for a deep kiss.

…

Two hours later Gibbs woke from the peaceful slumber he'd fallen into after he and Jenny had made love, he looked around in the dimly lit room looking for the redhead who had fallen asleep with her head on his chest but couldn't find her anywhere.

He worried for a moment that he'd imagined it, but then he saw her clothing on the floor around the bed alongside his and his sheets smelt like her perfume and also the space beside him was still warm.

The sound of the floorboards creaking outside in the hallway got his attention, he hopped out of bed and picked up his boxers and looks around for his t-shirt but couldn't find it so gave up and just headed to the door instead.

Opening it he smiled at the sight of Jenny walking back and forth wearing the very t-shirt he'd been looking for and not much else, on her mobile talking to someone.

She hadn't noticed him so he took a moment to admire her natural beauty, her hair was messy, her lips were swollen and her make up smudged from their previous activities.

He had to admit he'd never connected with anyone like he did with her, maybe Shannon but it was pretty close, he couldn't believe that she was with him, someone so beautiful, someone so warm, so perfect, he'd found her and all bye fate, I mean any other women could have walked around the corner but it had been her, her and her two beautiful children that he really wanted to know more.

Jenny turned on the balls of her feet and her face softened when she saw him, loving how his hair was sticking up in all directions and his chiselled chest covered in, marks from her long nails and a small love bite on his neck, almost marking him as hers. She held up one finger to him.

"Okay, we'll talk more about it when you come home, we'll see, okay, uh huh, give him a kiss for me, night Abs, love you too, forever and always" Jenny answered Abby on the other end of the phone before putting it down and looking at Gibbs.

"Hey" she smiled at him as he reached over to her and pulled her close to him. "I didn't want to wake you" Jenny tried to explain, not sure why.

"Everything okay?" Gibbs asked as he brushed her hair out of her face.

"Yeah they just wanted to say goodnight" she told him with a small smile before reaching over and giving him a kiss.

"Mmm so I have you for a whole week to myself?" He asked her.

"It seems that way" Jenny said while she played with his hair. "What are you going to do with me?" She asked him pretending to be bored.

"Oh I have a few ideas" Gibbs said picking her up bridal style and carrying her back to his bedroom and shutting the door with his foot, loving the sound of her laughter that rang through the house.

He hopped for a couple of hours at least he could take her mind off of her children and how they were spending the week with their father.

TBC….

**Hope you guys like, any suggestions?**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The week past way to quickly for Jenny and Gibbs' liking, they liked this time where they got to act like a normal couple, without the children, they could focus on each other, on their side of the relationship, to see if there was definitely something between them before Abby and Tony became too attached at the idea, both happy to report that there was definitely something between them, call it chemistry, a spark, perhaps a little early to call it so but love.

Before they knew it they stood on the path outside Jenny's apartment "Are you sure they won't mind me being here?" Gibbs asked his girlfriend.

Jenny gave him a soft smile "Abby already likes you a lot and I promise Tony will warm up to you, he's just used to being the only man in my life" she explained, slightly glad Gibbs was worried about the kids and how fast or slow he went into getting to know them.

"Okay" Gibbs nodded to Jenny before letting her reach up and give him a quick kiss, he loved being able to kiss her, hold her, the comfort of her just being there, he was going to miss it now she had to go back to work and the kids came back into her life, not that he didn't like them because he did and wanted to get to know them and care for them but he still couldn't help the streak of jealousy with in him.

"Tony will definitely like you more when you take us to his favourite Italian restaurant for dinner" she assured him, she wasn't surprised her son was acting the way he was to Gibbs but she hopped it would blow over soon, she wanted the two most important men in her life to get along.

Both looked down the road when they heard a car coming towards them, it was Ed's old truck coming down the road, he quickly pulled up in front of the couple and Tony and Abby hopped out with their bags.

"Sorry I've got a jobs interview got to run" Ed yelled to no one in particular before driving off only a mere second that Tony slammed the old truck door.

"Mummy" Abby said running over to the redhead and hugged her mother tight and Jenny hugged her daughter tight and ran her hands over her daughters pigtails.

"Did you have fun with your dad?" she asked her daughter with a smile.

"Yeah, but I missed you a lot" Abby assured her mother, she loved her dad but sometimes it was good to come home.

"Hey Tony" Jenny ushered her son over but he didn't make any move to hug her or anything.

"Hi" he mumbled looking down at his feet before looking at Gibbs "Hi Gibbs" he almost mumbled before looking down at his shoes again.

"Did you have a good time?" Jenny asked him, hoping to get more than one syllable from her son.

Tony shrugged his shoulders "His gold fish only has one eye" he mumbled.

"Gibbbbbsss" Abby yelled before attacking him in a hug.

"Hey Abby" Gibbs said giving the little girl a light hug back.

"Did you look after mummy while we were gone, because I know she gets lonely when were not here" Abby asked him.

"Yeah I took good care of her, but I know she still missed you guys lots" Gibbs assured the little goth with a smile.

"Come on guys, let's go inside" Jenny suggested before Tony and Abby went to walk to the building while Gibbs grabbed their bags and followed them all inside.

….

A couple of hours later they sat in the local Italian restaurant, Tony was very happy he got to have his favourite pizza, while Abby chose mac and cheese one of her favourites.

"Thanks Gibbs, this is great" Tony told him with a bright smile, maybe this Gibbs guy wasn't so bad after all.

"Anytime buddy and make sure you save room for dessert, you can have whatever you want" Gibbs told him knowing that Tony loved the all you can eat sundae bar.

Tony then began to eat the last of his pizza with a new found vigour which made Gibbs and Jenny laugh a little, but then wished he would slow down worried that he might choke.

Abby laughed before she continued to eat her cheesy pasta, her legs swinging back and forth as she ate, she looked over at her mum and Gibbs and couldn't help but smile, she liked how he looked at Jenny, his eyes were a deep blue and when they looked at Jenny she saw them soften and a slight sparkle appear, the little girl also noted how much her mother smiled a lot more recently and how she had done a lot more recently.

"Gibbs do you like my mummy?" she asked after a moment.

Gibbs himself was a little taken back by the question that the six year old had just asked him, but he answered none the less without really thinking about it "Yeah Abby, I like your mum a lot" he told her, all of a sudden jumping a little when he felt Jenny's hand on his thigh and give it a little squeeze.

"Mummy do you like Gibbs?" Abby turned to her mother and looked at her with her familiar green eyes.

"Very much" Jenny assured Abby with a smile before sharing a quick smile with Gibbs.

….

An hour or so later they had just left the restaurant when Gibbs' phone began to ring, obviously being in the restaurant meant that there was no phone reception.

"Gibbs" he answered as he stepped away from Jenny and the kids as he spoke.

"Boss, where have you been we've been trying to call you" Stan Burleys voice came from the other end of the phone.

"I've been busy, I didn't hear my phone, what's wrong, we got a case?" he asked him, he was a private person, he didn't let anyone know about his personal life, he didn't want anyone ever using the people he loved against him as some sort of weakness and put them in danger and he also didn't see why it should matter to anyone, the only reason Ducky knew was because he was his best friend and would be heart if he didn't know, he would be hurt when he did finally find out that he wasn't told sooner.

"No, the directors just going ape about some paperwork that you didn't sign and is due in tonight" Burley explained, he himself having been called to track Gibbs down when they hadn't been able to reach Gibbs by his phone.

"Okay, I'll come as soon as I can" he said before putting the phone down before turning back to Jenny and the two children, who were slightly hyped up on sugar from their over loaded ice cream sundae.

"Everything okay?" Jenny asked him, her voice laced with concern.

"Yeah" Gibbs sighed "Just have to go to work, some legal thing" he told her "I'll drop you guys off first" he said as he led them to his car.

"Or we could go with you" Jenny suggested, not wanting the time together to be cut short, not when they'd had plans to stay in and watch a film of Tony's choice together and then the kids wouldn't even make it half way through before they would fall asleep and then leave Jenny and Gibbs sometime alone before he decided he couldn't stay and she walked him to the door regretting every step before they kissed passionately goodnight and he disappeared into the night.

"You sure, it'll only be for a little while, I'm just signing paperwork?" he asked her knowing it might be boring.

"Of course, the kids are full of energy anyway" Jenny said with a warm smile.

"Okay" he told her before helping them all into the car.

…

Ten minutes later they walked into the NCIS bullpen, Tony and Abby looking at the bright orange walls and all the people that were passing them, they'd never been a federal agency before, this was beyond cool.

"Hey boss" the whole gang stopped in their tracks and looked at the younger dark haired man that approached Gibbs "Boss the dire…." Burley began but then saw the redhead and two sprogs that stood behind Gibbs "Well well well, what have we got here then boss?" he asked with a smirk.

Gibbs slapped the younger man on the back of the head "This is Jenny, Abby and Tony, why don't you give them a tour while I sign these papers" Gibbs suggested, "Make sure to introduce them to Duck and take them to forensics, I've got a feeling that Abby might like it" he said grinning at the little girl.

"Yeah, I wanna see forwensics" Abby said grabbing stand hand, Tony shook his head and followed them, Jenny gave Gibbs a quick kiss before following Stan.

"And Tony if Burley misbehaves you can slap him on the back of the head" Gibbs yelled after them before turning to the paper work on his desk.

Half an hour he was done and already on his way to the director's office, he just barged into Vance's office as normal "Ah Gibbs, thank you for coming in" Vance said looking over to Gibbs from his computer.

"Just doing my job" Gibbs said as she shrugged his shoulders before putting the paper on his desk.

"Are the rumours of some guests of yours coming for a visit true?" Leon asked just as Gibbs turned to leave the office.

"Uh yeah" Gibbs nodded scratching the back of his head, slightly nervous about how fast the news travelled around the building. "I was with them when Burley called" he mumbled "Is that all?" he asked.

"You can go" Vance smirked at how almost embarrassed Gibbs seemed before letting the young man go.

Gibbs gave a little nod before walking out of the office, slamming the door behind him before walking down the stairs taking two at a time and rounding the corner of the bullpen just as Jenny and the kids came out of the bullpen both children grinning and talking a mile a minute to their mother and Burley.

"Gibbs" Abby squealed before running over to him in time for him to bend down and pick her up, "When I grow up I want to be a fowensic scientist" she told him with a big toothy grin.

"Really?" he asked her "Well I bet you're going to be the best forensic scientist ever" he told her before she squealed again and hugging him. "What do you think Tony, is NCIS cool?" he asked.

"Yeahhh" Tony grinned "It's so cool, all the guns and autopsy tables and the guns" he grinned before turning to his mother "Mum you saw the guns, aren't they cool?" he asked her.

"Yes very cool sweetie" she told him with a little smile.

"You guys ready to go?" Gibbs asked after a moment.

"Yeah" Abby mumbled with a yawn before snuggling into Gibbs' chest, he took in a deep breath, memories of Kelly rushing through his mind.

"Come on" Jenny said offering her hand to him, he took it and she ushered a tiered Tony to the elevator.

Burley leant against the office divide and shook his head Leroy Jethro Gibbs was a mysterious man.

Later that evening Gibbs helped tucked Tony into his bed while Jenny did the same to Abby "Night Tony" Gibbs said softly as the boys eyes fluttered shut.

"Gibbs…your pretty cool" the little boy mumbled before letting sleep take him. Gibbs smiled it seemed Tony had really warmed to him.

TBC…

**Hope you guys like, any suggestions?**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jenny and Gibbs' relationship was just getting better and better since the trip to NCIS which had warmed Tony to Gibbs.

Everyone at NCIS had noticed the change in Gibbs he was less grouchy, smiled a little but, took longer coffee and lunch breaks and actually went home a lot earlier at a reasonable time.

Ducky couldn't help but think how good this Jenny and her children were for his friend, he had seen Gibbs go from wives to relationships and he had never seen him this changed, this happy, this content.

Cassy, Jenny's friend at work had also noticed a change in the redhead, She'd seen her go from being married to being divorced to being single again to being now in a potential serious relationship, Jenny was happy, happier than she'd been even when she was married to Ed. She noticed that the redhead spent a lot of her break, lunch and free lessons on the phone talking to someone while twirling her hair around her finger as if she was flirting with whoever was on the other end.

….

"Going home boss?" Stan burley asked his boss as he go ready to leave on a Friday night at the end of the day shift earning a glare from their other team member Will Decker.

"It's the end of our shift isn't it?" Gibbs asked as he pulled his jacket off of the back of his chair and put it on, he himself getting ready to leave for the weekend.

"Well yeah but you don't have a life so you…." Stand began but stopped when he saw a glare he was getting from his boss.

"What he means is boss…" Will interrupted trying to soften the inevitable head slap that was coming Stan's way "You usually stay late" he explained to Gibbs.

"Got Somewhere to be" Gibbs mumbled after checking his phone for anything from Jenny, but there was nothing.

"Realllllyyy" Stan almost laughed "You have a hot date with that Jenny women?" he asked, looking at the lady that had stopped by the other day made him think that maybe his boss was right about going after redheads.

Gibbs didn't reply, he just shrugged his shoulders before walking to the elevator with a smug smile on his face.

…..

Jenny was beginning to regret letting Tony and Abby invite their friends over, it wasn't that she didn't like Tim and Ziva, she did. They were both really sweet and fun but both came from strict families, Ziva being Mossed or some sort of secret agency and Tim's being an admiral. So this meant that when they got together with her children they became loud and a little over excited.

"Pizza" she yelled having put some she'd ordered on the living room table along with some drinks. All four of them came running into the room from Abby and Tony's now messy room where they had been playing cowboys and Indians or at leady she thoughts that was what they were playing.

"You guys can watch the film while you eat" she told them as Abby and Tim sat on the sofa and Ziva and Tony sat on cushions on the floor, Jenny dimmed the light once the children were comfy and had got themselves pizza before pressing play on James Bond -the world is not enough.

She herself then retreated into the small kitchen where her mobile phone was ringing "Shepard" she answered not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Hey Jen, it's me" Gibbs' voice floated through the phone.

"Hi, the kids have just settled in with a film, you sure you still want to come over?" she asked him in a low whisper.

"Of course" Gibbs answered her "Why don't you want me to come over?" he asked cheekily.

"Of course I do" Jenny assured him "I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable around all these kids" she told him thinking that it couldn't be easy with Kelly.

Gibbs smiled to himself as he looked up to the apartment from where he sat in his car "It was a long time ago, I'll be fine, but I loved that you thought of me" he told her making her heart swell just a little "Now buzz me in" he said now standing outside the door.

Her only reply was to buzz him into the building, he put the phone down and back into his pocket before walking up the stairs taking two at a time.

By the time he got to the apartment door it was already open and Jenny was standing in the doorway, expecting him "Hi" she smiled as he walked towards her.

"Hey" he grinned before reaching out to her and pulling her close to him by her waist before kissing her hello quickly, not wanting to get caught by the kids, not sure how it would freak them out.

"Mmmmh, you want coffee?" she asked once they'd pulled apart, Gibbs' only reply was a look that said, 'what do you think', she smiled before grabbing his hand and pulling him into the apartment, "Stupid question I know" she almost laughed as they walked into the living room.

"Gibbs" Abby whispered not wanting to disturb the others.

Gibbs went to the back of the TV "Hey Abs" he whispered to her before pressing a quick kiss to her hair, then he looked over to Tony to see him looking at him and decided just to give him a little nod and Tony responded in the same way with a slight smile before Ziva jabbed him in the shoulder which made him look back at the TV.

The special agent then turned and followed Jenny to the kitchen, taking the opportunity to take a quick glance and her ass in her figure hugging jeans, the redhead turned and looked at him with a raised eyebrow, Gibbs just shrugged his shoulders before going over to her freshly brewed coffee pot.

Jenny couldn't help but stifle a laugh, she liked the fact that he looked at her ass, it made her less self-conscious about her body, it made her feel more confident, no man had ever made her feel that way not even Ed, there was just something about Gibbs, his rough, gruffness that was just so charming, so appealing, to her so very sexy.

They both then sat down at the kitchen table, Gibbs put a cup of coffee in front of her and one in front of himself, he reached across the table and grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "So…" he smiled at her "How was your day?" he asked.

"Long" she told him before taking a sip of her coffee, he knew just how she liked it. "But I got everything marked" she told him "How about you any cases?"

Gibbs shook his head "Just paper work, otherwise I would still be there"

"You didn't have to come" Jenny told him "I mean you've spent like every Friday evening and most of Saturday with me and the kids, are you sure you don't want time to yourself" she asked.

"I like spending time with you guys" he told her "But if you want me to go, just say the word and I'll go" he assured her, letting go of her hand.

"No" Jenny shook her head "Believe it or not, but you are most definitely growing on me" she told him with a bright smile before they both leant across the table, just as they were about to kiss her phone began to ring again ruining the moment. "It seems I'm popular this evening" she groaned before getting up and going to answer it, leaving Gibbs with his coffee.

A couple of minutes later Jenny walked back into the room having walked out of the kitchen for some privacy, "Everything okay?" Gibbs looked up at Jenny.

"I have to step out for a little while an hour tops I promise a friend needs me or something, can you look after the kids?" she asked feeling a little bit rushed and under pressure.

"Sure" Gibbs nodded "What should the kids do after the film is over?" he asked not sure if they had plans or whatever.

"Uh" Jenny thought for a moment "They are staying over there should be mattresses set in Tony and Abs' bedroom or they might fall asleep where they are, I'll be back soon" Jenny assured him pressing a kiss to his lips before leaving out of the kitchen then the front door, Gibbs couldn't help but wonder what friend would want her at seven on a Friday night.

….

Almost two hours later and Jenny wasn't home, Gibbs couldn't help his gut churning.

The film had finished soon after Jenny had left and the kids had been wondering where she was so he just told them that she would be back soon, they'd gone to go play in Tony and Abby's bedroom, he hadn't heard anything for the past ten minutes in there and wondered if something was wrong.

He walked over to the children's bedroom and opened the door and smiled at what he saw, Abby was fast asleep on top of her bed covers her hair still in tight pigtails and dressed in her clothes, Tony was asleep on the edge of his bed, his head, arm and leg falling off of the edge dangling dangerously over Ziva who slept soundly on the mattress by his bed snoring loudly and Tim slept soundly on the mattress next to Abby's bed, not making a sound.

It brought back memories of looking in on Kelly before he himself went to bed to join Shannon after hours in his basement working on the boat, he'd always gone over to her and kissed her on the forehead, wanting to protect her from nightmares, to keep her safe, let her have a goodnight sleep.

He sighed "Sleep tight guys" he mumbled into the room before closing the bedroom door softly behind him.

As Gibbs walked back to the kitchen to get another cup of coffee he heard a car door shut outside, wondering if it was Jenny he walked to the window in the living room and looked down at the street below, what he saw shocked him.

A man got out of an expensive jag and ran around to the passenger side and opened the door and outstepped Jenny with a big smile on her face, he then watched as the mysterious man and Jenny link arms as they walked to apartment door, Gibbs didn't like how close they stood, how Jenny smiled too much, was she flirting, his heart began to beat way too fast for his liking.

He moved away from the window not wanting to look at more, would Jenny really be the type to cheat, the type to lead him on so much, to take him to the edge of falling in love with her to not have her beside him in the same position, maybe she was just with a different guy.

Hearing her key in the lock brought him from his thoughts, he watched as the door opened and Jenny walked in "hey" she smiled at him "You okay?" she asked seeing his skin was pale and his eyes looked lost.

"I'm fine" he said giving her a fake smile "The kids are asleep, I should go" he told her before going to the door but Jenny blocked his way.

"What's wrong?" she asked her hands going to his shoulders.

"Nothing I'm fine, I just think it's time for me to go" he told her shrugging her hands off as she moved out of his way, seeing he was in no mood to argue and neither was she.

"Okay, I mean you don't have to, we could watch a film, drink beer, eat left over pizza" Jenny suggested liking the idea of a night in with him.

"Maybe next time" he suggested before going to open the front door, he was about to walk out when Jenny grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face her.

"Hey" she told him to get his attention "Call me tomorrow?" she asked him.

"Yeah" Gibbs gave her a small smile before walking out, without kissing her making her feel confused and upset.

Jenny shut the door and rested her head on it, she didn't understand what was going on, he'd been fine, his normal romantic, charming self but when she'd come back he'd been weird and she just didn't understand why.

Meanwhile Gibbs went home to the solitude of his basement where he couldn't get the image of Jenny with that guy out of his mind so he drank some bourbon and that still didn't work so he drank more and ended up drinking more and passing out drunk in his basement, something he hadn't done in a very long time.

TBC…

**This idea hit me this morning, I hope you guys like please review**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It had almost been three weeks since Gibbs had begun to ignore any and all of Jenny's attempts to contact him. Almost three weeks since he had seen Jenny with another man and had felt like his heart was being torn in two. There wasn't a moment that went by that wasn't full with thoughts about her. Meanwhile Jenny was getting worried.

She didn't understand what had changed in the two hours she'd slipped out. She knew lying to him about where and who she'd gone to see, but she didn't want to worry him with it, at least not yet.

Gibbs knew turning of his phone and working on his boat while drinking bourbon wasn't a good idea to bottle up his feeling but that wasn't a good idea but it was all he'd ever done, all that he knew.

Finally Jenny had had enough and so she left Tony and Abby at their friend Kate's house for a sleepover while she herself got all glammed up in a short green dress, accented with sparkles, a light green jacket and matching high heels, she wore her hair down and curled naturally and she headed to NCIS.

She walked out of the elevator and into Gibbs' bullpen and walked over to the area where she remembered Gibbs' desk being when she'd visited the other month, but he wasn't there, she huffed before running her hand through her red curls in frustration.

"Can I help you Ma'me?" Jenny turned to find a younger, tall, dark haired, dark eyed man.

"I'm looking for Special agent Gibbs" she told the younger man.

"Ugh, I think you just missed him" the man replied "I'm Will, Will Decker, I'm on Gibbs' team" he introduced himself, offering his hand.

"I'm Jenny, I'm Gibbs' ugh…." She wasn't sure what to say "Friend" she decided to go with before shaking his hand.

"Jenny" the redhead turned and recognised Stan burley, the agent that she'd met when she'd first come, the one that had given her and the kids a tour of the agency.

"Stan" she gave him a small smile.

"If you're looking for Gibbs you just missed him" Stan told her the redhead, noticing how she was all dressed up and just for their boss.

"Okay thanks" Jenny replied, she should have known that she would have had better luck looking for him in his basement. "Well I better go, you boys have a good night" she told them as she turned on her heels and headed back to the elevator.

She stepped inside only to find someone already in there, she recognised the man under his long dark brown trench coat and matching fedora and he recognised her too, "Ah Jenny isn't it?" Ducky asked her.

Jenny nodded "Dr Mallard" she gave him a small smile as she stood in one corner of the metal box and he stood in the other

"Are you here to see Jethro?" he asked her, Gibbs hadn't mentioned the redhead in a couple of weeks and avoided even having to mention her so he wondered if they were okay.

"Yes but it seems I've missed him again" Jenny sighed.

Ducky watched the redhead for a moment "Is something the matter between you and Jethro my dear?" he asked her after a moment.

Jenny shrugged her shoulders "I don't know" she admitted "For the last couple of weeks he's been ignoring my calls and avoiding me….I don't know why and it makes me worried about him" she admitted not sure why she had opened up to a complete stranger but she soon figured if Gibbs could trust him then she could too.

The ME knew that something was going on but he didn't know why his friend was acting this way, he also knew that he had to do or say something "Don't give up on him" he told her after a moment "Jethro is a very private, stubborn person, he doesn't let many people in, you just need to give him time" he continued "You and your children are the best thing to happen to Jethro for a very long time and I've seen him go through all of his wives and I've never seen him so happy with anyone"

Jenny couldn't help but smile "I won't give upon him" she assured Ducky "He's the best thing that had happened to me" she told him "I really care about him" she said as the elevator stopped on the floor that she wanted.

"Then I think you know where to find him" Ducky told her with a small smile, Jenny nodded before walking out of the elevator, to the Gibbs cave it was.

….

Gibbs should have known she would come to him eventually and that when she did she would be all dulled up just to get his attention and let him know what he's been missing for the past couple of weeks.

He heard her heels as they clipped and clopped against the floor boards above him and then the sound of his basement door opening followed but he didn't turn around to look at her, he already knew she was there her perfume had already assaulted his senses.

"Who would have guest I'd find you here" Jenny joked, breaking the almost awkward silence that was settled between them.

"Well this is my house" Gibbs grumbled as he concentrated on sanding his boat.

Jenny pursed her lips before walking over to him and leaning against the shell of the boat "Need any help?" she asked raising an eyebrow at him, memories of the first time she'd helped him with the boat and what entailed afterwards clouding her mind.

"Nope" Gibbs answered just as gruffly as before and it cut Jenny even more, she didn't understand why he was being so cold to her.

"What is wrong with you?" She asked him with her hands on her hips, her tone loud and full off anger and annoyance.

"Nothing" Gibbs moved a little away from the redhead, he couldn't get distracted by her, let him fall into her arms, not when she was lying to him, possibly cheating on him.

"We haven't spoken or anything in three weeks, there has to be something wrong" Jenny insisted going to touch his shoulder gently only have him flinch, it hurt her more than she could describe.

"Maybe you should go talk to your other boyfriend and he can shed some light on the situation" Gibbs told her moving from the shell of his boat to the work top where his half bottle of bourbon was waiting for him.

Jenny was stunned for a moment "Other boyfriend?" she asked him, completely confused, where could he have got that crazy idea from?

"I'm not stupid Jenny" Gibbs told her "You can't just play with my heart like that, let me think that we had something and then actually find out your just using me as a babysitter while you go out and meet another guy" he ranted to her, all the thoughts that had been rolling around in his head.

"I never did that" Jenny yelled at him in her defence.

"I saw you with him , walking arm in arm back to your apartment laughing" he said pointing a finger at her before taking a sip of his bourbon. Jenny's face broke out into a smile which only hurt Gibbs more "This isn't funny Jen" he told her his voice full of anger.

"Jethro" she said putting her hands flat on his chest "That guy you saw me with was an old friend from school" she told him "And he's gay and happily married" she added.

"Why were you meeting up with him then?" he asked her, his hands going to keep hers on his chest, his thumb rubbing circles on the backs of her hands, he couldn't describe the relief that was going through him.

"He was returning my call" Jenny told him, the question of what call lingered in the air "I called him because of the case" she said.

"What case Jen?" Gibbs asked her, his voice full of worry.

"Ed sent me papers a couple of weeks ago, telling me that he wants full custody of Abby and Tony" she admitted.

"No" Gibbs shook his head, how could Ed want full custody of the kids, want to take them away from their mother who had raised them when Ed had hardly been there.

"Apparently he can give the children a better life than I can, he's got a new Job, a house, really got it together and I apparently haven't" she admitted with watery eyes "So I needed a lawyer and I called him" she told him, looking up to meet his eyes "I can't lose them Jethro, I don't know what I'd do if…." She began.

Gibbs pulled the redhead into his arms, if he didn't feel a jackass before then he did now, leaving her when she was going through all this, when she needed someone to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be okay. He ran his hands down her back and held her close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head "Everything's going to be okay" he told her "We'll fight for Abby and Tony, we won't let Ed take them away" he told her.

"We?" Jenny asked him after am moment, her eyes full of tears.

Gibbs nodded to her before wiping a stray tear from her cheek "You're not doing this on your own Jen" he said before kissing her, cementing that fact, "I'll be by your side not matter what" he assured her as she buried her face in his muscular chest, taking comfort in his warmth, his scent and mostly the strength.

TBC…

**Suggestions? Please review.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next morning Jenny woke to the feeling of being warm and comfortable, she snuggled further into the warm body beside her, breathing in the comforting scent of sawdust, coffee and bourbon.

She was so glad she was so back being back in Gibbs' arms, after getting the papers from Ed, telling her that he was going to fight her for custody of the children, she felt like she needed someone but Gibbs hadn't been there but he was there for her now and had promised her that he would be there no matter what for her and the kids.

"Morning" she looked up from where she was resting her head on Gibbs' chest to find Gibbs was already awake, his blue eyes dull with tiredness.

"Morning" she said with a smile before pressing a kiss to his bare chest, "I need to get home" she said trying to move out of the bed, out of Gibbs' arms but he stopped her, pulling her over to him.

"Can't you stay a little longer?" he asked her pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder and then moved to her neck.

"Abby and Tony will wonder where I am" Jenny explained as she closed her eyes for a moment because of the feeling she was experiencing by his attention to her neck.

"Just for coffee" Gibbs tried to persuade her some more as he pressed a kiss to her cheek and then her lips.

"Okay fine" Jenny said her laughter being muffled by Gibbs' lips on hers once again, she really had missed him, being with someone who cared about her, who cared about her kids, who she cared about.

The redhead pushed Gibbs away from her and successfully slipped out of bed, "Hey where are you going?" Gibbs asked her, looking at her with his blue eyes making her knees feel a little weak but she decided not to show him how he affected her.

"Getting coffee" She told him as she slipped on his t-shirt from last night and then headed for the door of the bedroom and then walked out.

Gibbs smiled before laying back in his bed, folding his arms behind his head, he couldn't help the guilty feeling in his gut because he hadn't been there for her when she'd needed him, how he'd avoided and ignored her at any chance he'd got.

He liked Jenny a lot, maybe he was falling in love with her but he wasn't sure he could really admit that to himself let alone her yet. He definitely felt more for her than he had for hi past wives, he didn't find himself comparing what he and Jenny had to what Shannon and he had had.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted from the kitchen, up the stairs and into the bedroom, Gibbs slipped out of his bed and slipped on everything from the day before apart from the t-shirt of course because Jenny was still wearing it.

Downstairs Jenny had just poured two mugs off coffee when Gibbs entered the kitchen, loving how naturally Jenny fitted in in his home, how she seemed so at home in his house, thinking how he would like her to be here more often.

"Hey" Jenny told him as she whipped her head around, two mugs of coffee in her hand "Here, not sugar or cream how you like" she said as he took the cup from her hand and then watched as he took a sip. "Good?" she asked him.

Gibbs nodded "Yeah, you're pretty good at coffee" he told her with a smile.

Jenny shrugged her shoulders then looked at the clock hanging on the wall "I really need to get going" she sighed, not wanting to leave Gibbs anytime soon, only having just come back into Gibbs' arms.

"I'll go with you" he suggested, wanting to see Abby and Tony plus not wanting for Jenny to go.

"I think Abby and Tony would love it" she said to him with a big smile before kissing him and he kissed her back.

….

An hour and a shared shower later Jenny and Gibbs arrived at the apartment she shared with Cynthia "I'm home" Jenny yelled as she walked into the living area.

"Mummy" Abby yelled as she ran out of the bedroom and straight into her mother's legs, "Gibbs" she yelled again upon seeing him.

"Hey Abs" He greeted her as he lifted her up sending her pigtails flying "How are you?" he asked the six year old.

"I lost a tooth" she said showing him the gap were a tooth had been the last time he'd seen her.

"Wow" he said with a chuckle "Did the tooth fairy come and visit you?" he asked her.

"Uh huh" Abby nodded "I got a dollar" she told him excitedly holding up a finger at him to show how many dollars she got.

"You're rich" Gibbs told her, bouncing her up "Pizza's on you then" he joked as he put her back down the floor, his back aching with the weight of the little girl.

"Gibbs" Tony smiled at the older man when he walked out of the kitchen.

"Hey Tony" the older man smiled at him.

"So you arrested anyone lately?" the little boy asked loving that his mum's boyfriend was a police man, making Gibbs laugh.

Meanwhile Jenny stood with Cynthia in the kitchen area "So everything is good with lover boy?" Cynthia asked her friend.

Jenny laughed before hitting her friend lightly "Everything is fine with Jethro" she continued "It was just a little misunderstanding" she explained.

"Good" Cynthia smiled as they watched Gibbs with Abby and Tony. "He's good with kids" she said nudging the redhead lightly.

Jenny nodded "He is" she said with a smile, a man like Leroy Jethro Gibbs was hard to find, Jenny pushed off of the kitchen side and began to make her way to the three people she cared about most in the world when there came a knock at the door.

"I'll get it" she yelled before bypassing Tony, Abby who were filling Gibbs in with all that he had missed even the episodes of magnum PI they had watched when he'd been away.

She reached the door and opened it, surprised to find a familiar, tall, dark haired, blue eyed man standing in the hallway "Ed what are you doing here?"

TBC…..

**How will Ed and Gibbs react to finally meeting each other?**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_Previously…._

_She reached the door and opened it, surprised to find a familiar, tall, dark haired, blue eyed man standing in the hallway "Ed what are you doing here?"_

_Now…_

Ed looked his former wife up and down for a second, something was different about her, he couldn't quite tell what it was, she looked different, she had a different air about her something he'd never experienced in their time together.

"I ugh thought it was time we talked" Ed explained to her "About everything, why I'm doing what I'm doing" he said almost cryptically as he could hear the kids talking and didn't know if Jenny had told them that they were most likely going to go to court to get custody of the children.

Jenny nodded "I've been busy, otherwise I would have called" she explained giving her ex-husband a small smile "Come in" she added standing aside to let him in.

From her place sitting next to Gibbs on the sofa, Abby heard her father's voice and her head flew to the direction of the door, Gibbs himself didn't recognise the voice but heard Jenny call him Ed so only presumed who it was.

"Daddy" Abby said getting up off of the sofa and running to the door where Ed had just stepped in and he picked her up and held her close.

"Hey Abs" he said pressing a kiss to his daughters brown hair that was so similar to his own.

Jenny smiled at Abby before going over to where Gibbs was now standing by the sofa with Tony next to him and discreetly grabbed Gibbs' hand with her own and squeezed it gently.

Gibbs looked to his side at Tony and saw how the normally bubbly excitable boy had changed, he seemed to have stiffened and was trying to stand as tall as he possible could.

"Hey buddy" Ed said putting Abby back on the floor and looked at Tony.

"Hi dad" Tony gave his father a small smile, Ed and Jenny didn't know why but since they'd split up, since Tony had really understood that his parents weren't together he'd been a little cold to his father despite all of Ed's efforts to try and get the boy to bond with him.

Ed's gaze then travelled to Gibbs, he hadn't expected to find another man here "You must be Gibbs, Abby told me a little about you" he said offering his hand, in truth the little girl may have told him a little too much about Gibbs.

Gibbs nodded "You must be Ed" he said with a small smile, meanwhile Jenny let out a little breath she didn't know she'd been holding in. not really sure why she was actually worried about her ex-husband and boyfriend meeting.

Cynthia then stepped in "Hey Ed" she greeted him with a small hug and a kiss on the cheek, they having been friends for years.

"Hey Cynthia, how you doing?" he asked her with a small smile.

"I'm doing good, you?" she asked him.

"That's why I'm here, Jenny can we talk?" he said turning to face the redhead.

"Of course" Jenny nodded looking around the small apartment for a moment, there wasn't anywhere really where they could talk privately.

"Hey kids" Cynthia said getting their attention "Why don't we got to the park like I promised?" she suggested.

"Yeah" Abby squealed excitedly before running to go and get her jacket on the hanger by the door and Tony followed behind his sister, wanting to stay so he could find out what the adults were going to talk about.

"I'll come too" Gibbs suggested, shooting Jenny a quick glance and she gave him a small nod, as much as she wanted him there at her side for support she thought that the conversation she was going to be having with Ed needed to be shared between just the two of them.

Gibbs went gave Ed a quick nod before following Cynthia and the kids to the park, leaving Jenny and Ed alone.

Jenny sat down on the sofa and offered for Ed to sit down beside her "Okay so tell me" she began "What's changed that's make you want to take my children away from me?" she asked her voice maybe a little harsh than she'd intended it to be.

"I got a job as a partner at the firm I've been working at and I've moved to a new house, I feel like I've really pulled myself together and I think I can offer the kids a better life" he explained.

Jenny shook her head, she felt like her heart was being cut into a million pieces and fed it to a pack of wolves "I'm their mother" she told him "the kids have a life with me and you can't it away from them" she told him.

"They won't have to change schools or anything" Ed told her "They'll just be living with me" he explained with a shrug of his shoulders.

"But they don't need to live with you, I love them, they live here and they like it" Jenny told him, standing up from the sofa, her hands on her hips.

"Oh come on Jenny" Ed almost laughed at her, making her remember the reason why she divorced him in the first place, she even began to wonder why on earth she had even fallen in love with him in the first place. "You live in a cramped three bedroom apartment in the middle of a busy D.C city and you work as a teacher, you barely have enough money to support them" he told her "They need support and you honey, just can't give them it" he added with a cocky smile.

"If you think I won't fight for my children" she told him "You are sadly mistaken"

"And there's the fiery Red I knew and loved" Ed said with a chuckle his hands going to grab her ass.

"Don't call me Red" Jenny automatically moved his hands away from her and took a large step back from him, "You are no part of the man that I knew and loved" she told him "Plus I now have someone twice the man you could ever be" she reminded him.

Ed almost laughed again "Really twice in age maybe" he snickered.

"Abby and Tony seem very attached to him" Jenny told Ed, hoping the fact that Tony liked Gibbs would hurt him just a little.

The dark haired man took a step forward to her and almost gritted his teeth "I'm their father, not him" he reminded her, "I'll not let him raise my children" he added before turning around and going to the door and walking out, slamming the door behind him.

Once he was gone Jenny flopped down onto the sofa and buried her head in her hands, he was right, if she wanted to support the kids, to give them their best chance in life she would have to make a lot of changes, a new boss, a new house, but all that was easier said than done.

TBC…

**I hope you guys like! Please review.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It had been many years since Gibbs had gone to a park, they'd always brought him nothing but memories of taking Kelly to the park, sometimes with Shannon other just the two of them. Seeing parents with their kids always made his heart swell and make him yearn to be back in his basement with his bourbon.

Now he stood behind the swing, pushing Abby forward and catching her when she swung back, hearing her giggle was music to his ears, watching her pigtails fly around her as she went through the air, it made him smile, made him happy and oddly didn't remind him of Kelly, none of it brought back memories of his past family.

"Gibbs stop" Abby said through laughs as she swung back and Gibbs caught the metal chains and stopped the swing so Abby could jump off of the swing. "Thanks Gibbs" Abby said with a bright smile before going to hug him, instinctively Gibbs wrapped his arms around the little girl.

Tony then came racing over from where he had just slid down the slide, "I'll race you to the top of the jungle gym" he told Abby with a toothy grin that almost reminded Gibbs of Jenny.

"Your on" Abby told her brother with a glare before racing off and Tony wasn't far behind her.

Gibbs smiled, satisfied that they were okay by themselves he went over to the bench Cynthia was sitting on and sat down beside her.

"Your good with them" Cynthia observed, Gibbs' only response was a bob of his head "Jenny said you had a daughter" she continued trying to make conversation.

"Yep" Gibbs replied, his voice hoarse as he thought of Kelly and how she would be at the end of the teenage years if she were still alive. "So how long have you known Jenny?" he asked her, not really knowing much about Cynthia and Jenny's friendship.

"I've known Jenny since high school and Ed too" Cynthia explained with a small smile I've never seen her so broken since when I opened the front door and she stood there with baby Abby in her arms and little Tony at her side"

"What happened between them?" Gibbs asked, he knew how he felt about Jenny and he wasn't sure why but the jealousy inside him couldn't help but make him think that Ed may cause some competition for him, maybe being alone with Ed would make the beautiful redhead realise she was still in love with him and that she was wasting her time with Gibbs.

"I don't really know, she doesn't like to talk about it" Cynthia shrugged her shoulders before looking around and then moving a little closer to Gibbs and whispering "But between you and me, I don't think Ed really loved her" she confessed she having seen the relationship over the years between the two.

"Tony was such a surprise to both her and Ed, he tried to get her to abort him but she wouldn't, he knew her father and his would kill him if he didn't propose and then Abby came along and he just couldn't take it anymore"

Gibbs almost couldn't believe what he was hearing, Ed had wanted Jenny to abort Tony, to kill an innocent life, that was wrong, or at least Gibbs thought that was wrong, knowing what it was like to have the innocent life he had created, he had loved being killed but what hurt Gibbs more was that Ed have everything Gibbs had ever wanted, a wife and kids, a family to come home to and he just left it.

"She loves you" Gibbs looked up and his blue eyes met Cynthia's brown "And I know you love her too" she added making Gibbs' cheeks go a little red, "The kids love you too" she said before getting up off of the bench and going to take a walk leaving Gibbs to his thoughts.

Cynthia had seen Jenny go through many boyfriends and no one had compared to how she saw the redhead behave with Gibbs and also Jenny children had never been so attached to any of the boyfriends ever.

…..

They'd returned home almost two hours later only to find Ed gone and Jenny sitting on the sofa with her laptop out, her eyes puffy and red obviously from crying and she had two windows on the computers open, jobs in the area and apartments or houses to rent.

Both Gibbs and Cynthia had given her questioning looks and she'd given them one that said she would explain later.

Later had come shortly after the kids had gone to bed and Cynthia had gone out on a date for once, giving Gibbs and Jenny some time to themselves.

He poured them both a mug of coffee and then carefully carried them to the living room where once again she sat with her laptop out, "Thanks" She mumbled taking the drink from him as he sat down beside her.

"Is there something your not telling me?" he asked her in almost a jokey manner, hoping he would open up to her.

Jenny gave him a small smile "Ed was right, I need to make a better life for Abby and Tony" she told him.

"Jen you're their mother who loves them, what better life can they have?" Gibbs asked her, his hatred for Ed escalating more and more by the moment.

She shook her head "Being in a cramped apartment for one isn't good for them and I can never by them what they need or want with my teachers salary" she explained.

"So your going to move and find a new job" Gibbs said, his tone sounding like she was insane as they both sat straight up on the sofa, facing one another.

"If that's what it takes for me to keep my kids then I'm going to do it" Jenny told him, not understanding why she had to explain herself to him out of all the people in the world.

Gibbs ran a tired hand down his face, after everything they'd been through in the past three weeks, the separation, the anger, the hurt, he didn't want to start fighting with her again. "Move in with me" he told her.

Jenny was lost for words for a moment, out of all the things in the world she didn't expect him to say that "What" she mumbled standing up and backing away from him slowly only to have Gibbs follow her.

"You" he said pointing at her "Abby and Tony" he added "Move in with me" he finished pointing to himself.

"You're insane" Jenny told him with a slight laugh, "You're crazy" she continued yet still with a smile on her face "Jethro we haven't been seeing each other that long" Jenny sounded more like she was trying to talk herself out of it rather than him.

"It's been almost six months" he told her "And in that time we've been through a lot" he told her before adding "And I know I already love you and I love Abby and Tony" he felt himself begin to ramble.

"You what" Jenny's heart was beating so fast in her chest she thought she was going to die, before he could repeat himself she was in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck "I love you too" she said with a grin before kissing him on the lips softly before pulling away.

"But I'm not going to move in with you" she said breaking his heart just a little bit.

Gibbs nodded, he understood it was a little soon, he just wanted to ease her burdens a little.

"At least let me think about it" she added making him give her a small smile before they kissed again.

TBC….

**I hope you guys like, any ideas how to change Jenny's mind and how Gibbs might be able to help on the job front because I want him to but can't think of a job at NCIS to do with politics that she could do as being an agent wouldn't be good for the kids and would take months to train her, so HELP!**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The next week Jenny hadn't made any improvement on finding a job and even less on finding a house or apartment, the idea of moving in with Gibbs was looking more and more appealing to the redhead, but then every time she thought about it, she just kept doubting what they had.

She kept thinking of how they would probably end up breaking up and then it would be awkward and she and her kids would have nowhere to go or they would have to stay for a while and it would be awkward for when they started dating.

After admitting he loved her and that he wanted her and her children to move in with him, Gibbs had given Jenny some space to think about it, really think about it, so he took the opportunity to have his monthly evening with Fornell while Jenny spent some time with Abby, Tony and Cynthia.

…

Gibbs sat in his kitchen, staring at the plastic container full of some sort of goat curry "I thought we agreed to no get food from the Indian place again" he glared at Fornell who sat opposite him.

Tobias shook his head "I don't remember you saying that" he said with a slight shrug of his shoulders but Gibbs' glare only intensified, "Okay fine" he huffed "I got a coupon" he admitted.

Grimacing Gibbs pushed away the offending food and got up out of his chair and went over to the cupboard and pulled out a box of grainy o's and poured the dregs into a bowl before going to sit back down opposite his friend, leaving the empty box on the side.

Fornell then got up out of his chair and went over to the box and internally groaned when he saw there was no cereal left, opening the cupboard where Gibbs had got it from to look for more cereal he was shocked to find an open box of lucky charms.

"Well well well, who knew Leroy Jethro Gibbs had such a sweet tooth" Fornell said, his voice full of laughter.

Gibbs turned sharply in his seat and his eyes went wide, he'd forgotten they were in there, "You can't eat them" he told him.

"Why?" Fornell's eyes lit up "Who's are they?"

"There Abby and Tony's for when they stay over, it's their favourite cereal" Gibbs explained as he continued to move the cereal round in his bowl.

"Abby and Tony?" Tobias asked sitting down opposite Gibbs.

"Yeah Jenny's kids" Gibbs shrugged his shoulders ads if it wasn't a big deal.

"Jenny being that women you met at the supermarket six months ago?" Fornell almost smirked, they hadn't spoken about the redhead since he had forced Gibbs to talk to her, he'd presumed nothing had happened.

"Yeah" Gibbs nodded with a small smile as he thought of the three new important people in his life.

"You guys still going good?" Fornell asked after a moment, feeling a little jealous that Gibbs seemed to have the light back in his eyes.

"Really good" Gibbs nodded with a small smile, to which Fornell returned with a nod of his own.

….

The next day Gibbs went to work as his team had the weekend shift, he sat for once in the waiting room, outside Vance's office, waiting for him to finish his meeting with whomever it was so he could hand in his case reports and go home and finally get to see Jenny and the kids.

He's already arrange it with them, they were waiting at his house, Tony insisted that they had to have a movie night with popcorn, pizza, ice-cream and any other junk food he could think of which would hopefully lead to the kids falling asleep then he and Jenny would have some alone time.

The office door opened making him lift his head, out walked an obviously pregnant Helen who Gibbs knew as an instructor with the new agents, helping them with how to fill in case reports, missing person reports and other admin, he'd heard she was leaving as she was expecting her third child in six years and wanted to be home with her children.

"It's been a pleasure working with you Helen and don't worry about not finding a replacement, I'm sure we can find one" He heard Vance assure her, they shook hands then the two parted.

Vance then turned to face Gibbs, "Gibbs, what can I do for you?" he asked as the silver haired man rose from his chair and followed his boss into his office.

Gibbs gave him a smile and Vance already knew that he must have overheard the conversation he'd had with Helen and knew someone that could replace her.

….

Two hours later Gibbs walked into his house, he loved how everything looked when there were people home, the lights were on, there was another car in the driveway, the sound of children's laughter reached his ears as he opened the front door, he wished it could be like that all the time but he knew that decision still rested in Jenny's hands.

Once he slipped off of his jacket Gibbs hung it up on one of the hangers and then walked into the living room where he found Tony chasing Abby around his living room with cushions from the sofa, trying to hit each other, both had big smiles on their faces.

His heart swelled, it had been a long time since he'd gotten used to having children running around his house with a smile on his face, he'd missed the familiar sound of other people in the house especially children.

The familiar smell of French spice and flowers filled his nostrils and a familiar pair of hands covered his eyes "Guess who" Jenny's breath was hot on his ear and sent chills up his spine.

"Ugh Diane" he joked making Jenny hit him playfully on the arm. Gibbs smiled at her before turning and wrapping his arm around her waist and pulled her closely to him "Oh it's you" he joked again making her smile, he loved her smile.

"Hi" Jenny greeted him before kissing him lightly on the lips, "How was work?" she asked him.

"Fine, long" he told her, he didn't want to have to burden her or her children with all the horrors that he saw on a daily basis in the world.

"Gibbs" Abby and Tony came running into the older man's legs and held on tight, all three having grown very close to one another, something that delighted and worried Jenny, she loved that the man she loved cared about her children so much, but she worried what would happen if the relationship went south, how would her children be hurt if they never saw Gibbs again.

"What film did you guys choose for us tonight?" Gibbs asked as Tony led him over to the sofa, where he had already set the film up on the TV, Jenny followed with Abby behind her.

"Wreck-it Ralph, it's like one of the coolest films ever" Tony told him sitting down on a cushion on the floor, the remote already in his hand.

Gibbs sat down on his sofa and Jenny sat next to him leaving a small gap between them, he looked over to her and smiled and motioned for her to move closer, just as she was about to Abby stood in front of them.

"Can I sit in-between?" Abby asked them, her greens eyes shining bright.

"Of course sweetie" Jenny said moving a little away from Gibbs making the gap bigger and so Abby jumped up onto the sofa and snuggled in-between the two to watch the film while Tony lay on his front on the floor, his leg kicking in the air.

Neither Gibbs or Jenny were really watching the film, both were more lost in thought, Jenny thinking about how comfortable she and her children had become in Gibbs' house, how it was a nice house, it had enough bedroom for everyone to have their own and a spare room, it had a garden to kick a ball in.

Meanwhile Gibbs' thoughts consisted on his talk with Vance and how he could approach the subject with Jenny and how well she would take it and what it would mean if she did take the job, half way through the film he reached behind Abby and grabbed Jenny's hand with his, she looked at him and smiled as she entwined their hands and squeezed his hand tight, looking in to each other's eyes made them realise that no matter what they would be okay.

…

Hours later after Abby had fallen asleep on Jenny ten minutes before the end of the film meanwhile Tony was almost asleep and they'd both been put to bed in the bedrooms they had at Gibbs' house, Jenny and Gibbs decided it was time they talked.

Jenny walked out of Gibbs' ensuit bathroom wearing his old NIS t-shirt and a pair of shorts, showing off her legs and curves perfectly.

Gibbs lay on his bed wearing his old marine corp t-shirt and sleep trousers, he smiled at her as he watched her walk to her side of the bed and perch on the edge.

"We need to talk" she told him, her eyes not quite meeting hers, his heart rate increased, he was worried that she was going to tell him that they were over, that they weren't going to work.

"I know" Gibbs replied with a gulp, sitting up against his headboard, bracing himself for the conversation he expected they were about to have.

"Okay" Jenny took a deep breath, closed her eyes, she had a feeling he wanted to talk about something but she wanted to talk first. "I've been thinking about what you said the other week…" she began.

"I asked you to move in with me" he nodded to her.

"Yeah" Jenny nodded with a smile, making the knots in his heart feel a little less tight. "I think we could try it" she admitted.

"Try it?" Gibbs asked her, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"Yeah" Jenny nodded "Me and the kids could spend more time here, like more than just the weekends and if it works then we'll move in for real".

Gibbs didn't even need to tell her how happy he was, instead he just reached out for her and pulled her close to him and kissed her lightly on the lips, not wanting to get too carried away when he still wanted to tell her about the job opportunity.

"Why did I have the feeling there was something you wanted to tell me?" she asked him, running a hand through his silvers locks as she rested against him.

"I think I've found you a job" he told her after a moment.

"Really?" Jenny asked him a little surprised.

"It's at NCIS, you'd been a teacher to new agents, teaching them how to fill out admin and stuff, Vance thinks you'd be great, I mentioned your experience teaching and your degree in politics"

"Jethro" she smiled at him before kissing him "I love you so much" she told him, everything was falling into place, she was going to get soul custody of her kids and she was going to do it with Gibbs by her side.

TBC….

**I hope you guys like it! please review.**


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